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Sagen rolls to Bischofshofen jumping win; Jerome 7th for U.S.

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August 17, 2006

Sagen rolls to Bischofshofen jumping win; Jerome 7th for U.S.{mosimage}BISCHOFSHOFEN, Austria — Defending Continental Cup women’s ski jumping champion Anette Sagen of Norway won her third event of the young season Tuesday while Jessica Jerome led four U.S. women into the top 15.

Sagen, who won for the second meet in a row, had the longest jump of the day in the first round, going 73 meters, and finished with a second jump of 71.5, good for 267.8 points. Germany’s Juliane Seyfahrt, who won the other five competitions in the first phase of Continental Cup jumping, finished second with jumps of 70 and 72 meters for 260.8.

Jerome was seventh with jumps of 70 and 68.5 meters for 250.9. Abby Hughes and Alissa Johnson tied for 12th place with Brenna Ellis 15th in the 65-meter hill.

“The speed [on the in-run] was maybe a little too much,” said U.S. coach Casey Colby, “but it made for a fun comp. The U.S. and Canadian ladies have been on the road for a long time and I think they are wearing out a little bit, but they managed to have some good jumps today.”

For Jerome, who was fifth after the first round, it was her sixth top 10 in eight contests. “Jessica was in with a tough group; About five or six ladies jumped over 70 meters and anyone that faltered even a little bit fell back a few spots in the final round. Jess was one of the victims — good jumps but not her best,” Colby said, noting she was jumping with a swollen ankle after slipping in the rain earlier this week.

At the break, Jerome stands fifth in the points (346 points) behind Seyfahrt (740), who won all four events in North America last month (two at the VISA Women’s Ski Jumping Festival in Park City and two in Calgary), and Sagen (552). Johnson is seventh (290). Continental Cup is the highest level of women’s jumping; the season resumes Dec. 13-14 in Vaaler, Norway.